The USDA is tightening eligibility requirements for individuals getting commodity program payments. The rule published this week is a change made in the 2018 Farm Bill. The final rule allows first cousins, nieces and nephews of farm operators to receive payments, according to Jonathan Coppess, policy specialist at the University of Illinois.
“Members of the family who are participating in the farm can also get their own individual limit,” Coppess told Brownfield Ag News Tuesday, “so the more family members you add through these provisions the more limits the farm overall will have.”
Under the requirements, each recipient has to provide 25 percent of the farm’s management hours or 500 hours annually.
